Casual Pin-Up Goth

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It's a holiday!!  That means I'm finally taking a break from thinking about nothing but work and breaking out a fun "weekend" outfit.  Today’s polka dot halter top from Venus needed some minor alterations (so much for their consistent sizing), but it turned out to be a wonderful buy. This is the perfect summer piece because it is made from a very lightweight fabric. I love the vintage flair it gets from the dots and the halter styling.

Whenever I want my look to go more vintage, I use flesh-toned stockings (or fishnets) rather than black. They lend more variety to my wardrobe and keep me from getting in a boring uber-Goth rut. :) This look also calls for true red lipstick, such as this one from Mary Kay called “Red.” I was totally sold on the color, but I find this lipstick to be quite dry.  It's my only Mary Kay lipstick purchase so far, so I don't know if their entire line is dry or if I just got a bad one.

This is kinda what I think Goth would have looked like if it had started in the 40s rather than the late 70s. Crosses, jet-black long hair, and bold eyeliner with elegant, mostly-black clothing in very feminine styles.

This cross came from Shrine Hollywood, and the bracelet is from Macy’s.

What by-gone era influences you the most in terms of fashion?

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All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Red & Black Week, Day 4: Ruching and Pleating

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Welcome to Red & Black Week Day 4 of 6!  We're halfway there, ladies!  :) We've had an astonishing number of participants so far! But I'm not going to reveal how many yet. I'll save the surprise for my Post-Red & Black Week Wrap-Up this Saturday!

If anyone missed their chance to link up their posts from yesterday due to the brief Mr. Linky malfunction, let me know and I will be sure to add you manually. I know some of you are dedicated to participating every day of the event, and I don't want anyone to miss out if they had something planned!

Questions about this theme? Visit the Red & Black Week Rules and FAQs or e-mail me.

Maybe I should've called this Ruche & Black Week.  ;)  What can I say; that's my absolute favorite clothing detail ever.  I have tons of ruched sleeves, bodices and skirts.  This strapless satin top is interesting in the fact that I think it's the only strapless top I've ever seen that buttons up the front.  It also has a cute little sash, which I prefer to just wrap around the back (using the built-in belt loops) than all the way around.  Someday I'll try it with a black sash, which I think would look cute tied in a bow in the front.

This top is another perfect color match for my all-time favorite red and black shoes!  I recently grabbed the asymmetrical sheer pleated skirt from Ross.  Yeah, I went from being a Ross hater to a total Ross groupie.  But I can't resist a skirt that's longer in the back than in the front!  I'm pretty sure we Goths invented that, despite the fact that it actually seems to be extremely popular suddenly...

You might remember this cross from one of my Red & Black Week outfits in 2011. I'm wearing red rhinestone stud earrings, too, although they pretty much look black in the photos.

I was experimenting with grey makeup in preparation for my new job...  I wore it darker here than I have been to work, to make it more evening-appropriate, but I wanted to see how the color looked on me, and make sure it didn't irritate my lids. I've had a lot of allergic reactions to eye shadows, which is why I usually stick with either Ben Nye or Bare Minerals. This one is by the latter, and as usual this brand was safe for me. However, I decided that it had a bit too much sparkle in it, since I wanted to pair it with a shimmery pink, so I'll be on the hunt for a matte grey next time I'm at the one store I know of that actually sells Ben Nye (other than online, but I like to see makeup products in person before I buy them the first time, when possible).

Wow; why do my nails look pink in this photo??

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Red & Black Week, Day 1: Vintage Polka Dots

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Happy Second Annual Red & Black Week! I've been looking forward to this ever since last year's inaugural event.  I'll be waiting up till after midnight tonight, like a kid waiting for Santa, to see who's the first to post in the Linky.  ;-D

Questions about this theme? Visit the Red & Black Week Rules and FAQs or e-mail me.

I scored this polka dot wiggle dress at Macy's last month on sale for 50% off. Technically, I was shopping for new work clothes, but this was 50% off. Admit it; you would have done the same thing. ;) So, to justify it as a work-related purchase, I wore this outfit to a little New Job Celebration with a couple of friends. One of our friends was having some work drama of her own, which was resolved just about the same time as I got my offer, so champagne was definitely in order!

A vintage look like this just screams for flesh-tone fishnets, doesn't it?  Of course, in the photos you can't tell they are fishnets. Trust me, they are; and they looked fabulous in person!

In my opinion, nothing goes better with black and white polka dots than red accessories. I think this is the first time I've worn the "other pair" of red shoes I bought on my birthday last year.  I tied the shoes in with a red hair flower adorning my ponytail, and matching lipstick.

I can't wait to see what my fellow Goth bloggers are wearing this week to honor this much-celebrated color scheme. Let the linking begin!


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Looking Forward to June…

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Why, you ask, does this outfit make me think of June? Because last June was my first-ever Red and Black Week. We had so much fun with it that several participants suggested this become an annual event. So, the first week of June each year will be Sophistique Noir’s Red and Black Week. It works much like my monthly themes, but lasts a whole seven days! Plenty of time to explore different ideas revolving around this timeless Gothic Fashion color combination.

However, I certainly can’t wait until June each year to show off a bit of red and black. After all, I need the practice before the big event! Here I am wearing a Venetian lace choker with a rose cameo attached, which I showed you during the week event last year. I added a simple beaded red flower to my hair, plus matching red nails and lips.

The sweater came from Newport News years ago, but I have seen that they have this same piece in the Pyramid Collection catalog from time to time. I have to say, any time I see something in the Pyramid Collection that I’ve also seen elsewhere, it’s always much more expensive at Pyramid. But if you want something bad enough, sometimes that can be worth it. The skirt is also from Newport News, part of their Shape FX line that I recently discussed (they still have a similar one, last time I checked, if you are interested!).  And yes, it's also the skirt I wore for my fairy outfit post last weekend.  Sorry for the immediate repeat.  ;)

So, have you guys been stocking up on things for Red and Black Week?

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All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Vampy Day at the Car Show

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Today's outfit was shot entirely on location! :) It's not often that I do my outfit photography outside of my home studio. I like working in an environment with controlled lighting and no looky-loos. Sometimes for car shows we leave the house rather early, so I don't really have time to photograph before we leave (and often I end up doing half my makeup on the way, anyway). There was a moment at this show where the lighting was nice and the crowds were relatively thin, so Mr. Kitty took advantage of the opportunity to get some shots as proof that I really do sometimes expose myself to the outdoors. Reluctantly. :)

Orange is not my favorite color for cars, or anything else, but this one happened to be in our nice quiet location so we used it as a backdrop. It's not our car. I don't know who's car it is. But the detailing is quite amazing, despite the color.

I'm glad we were able to get some photos of this outfit after all. I wore my coveted Alchemy Gothic locket and a pair of chenille arm warmers from Sock Dreams, and carried my Battenburg lace parasol. This parasol isn't great for long stretches of sun exposure (yeah, sun comes right through lace!), but most of this show was indoors so I knew the time spent outside would be minimal and broken up throughout the day. The ruffly purse was a Wal-Mart find. I don't usually shop there, but once in a while we go to pick up something that Target was out of stock on. And then we browse out of morbid curiosity. And this purse was an awesome deal at $7.

I've mentioned before that most decent car shows have a few vendors there designed to keep the ladies happy. At this show, I scored two huge hair flowers and these earrings. I know, you can't really see the earrings here, but consider this a teaser. I'll be featuring them close-up in my next post.

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All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Casual Saturday Errands… in the Cold

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Nothing too interesting going on with this outfit… A day of errands was in order, and it was quite chilly out! Since it was so warm in the house while getting ready, I picked out this half-sleeve cropped sweater from Arden B, a long lace cami with another cami underneath, and pants. Then I set one foot outside and went back and added the arm warmers.  Springtime is definitely bipolar around here.

I ended up enjoying this outfit quite a lot, as I had never paired this sweater with long arm warmers before. I like how the two sets of bell sleeves play off each other. And since the arm warmers go all the way up almost to my shoulders, the overlap kept me nice and warm.

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All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

April 1 Theme: Flowers

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Floral print can be challenging in Gothic fashion. Some Goths love it, some hate it; either way, it can be difficult to make it "work" with the look. I know many of you are probably cursing at me for this theme... ;) You are not alone, as I was cursing myself for a couple of days, too. I have very few floral print pieces in my wardrobe, the best ones being a red rose print shirt and my grey silk chiffon maxi skirt.

Mr. Kitty suggested that, instead of featuring something I've already worn on this blog, I should push the limits of my hair flower collection. I haven't been bothering to do much with my hair lately, so I thought this idea was a timely way to get me out of a rut.  I used my favorite chignon, wrapped my own hair in a braid around it, and topped it off with three different hued purple hair flowers.  Massive ones.

I realized that this silk chiffon top from Bebe would be the perfect complement to this floral-themed hair style. The dramatic keyhole neckline is trimmed with matching fabric flowers edged in black and topped with black beads. I paired it with one of my Newport News fishtail skirts.

My rose ring (featured in my February theme post, Rings), a pair of black flower earrings and of course my rose handbag from Pyramid Collection finished my celebration of spring!

I headed out to dinner with Mr. Kitty and my parents in this outfit, to celebrate my mom's 60th birthday. In keeping with the floral theme, I gave her a potted jasmine plant. And some Lindor chocolate truffles, which don't have anything to do with flowers but are a necessity at all times!

Last but not least, I give you to a view of our humble floral offerings. Living in the desert, we committed to using only low-water landscaping for our yard. We have not a single square inch of grass. We also don't have a lot of time for landscape maintenance, so most of our design is done using various stone and bricks. However, we did splurge and go for a patch of ice plant. This amazingly hardy succulent ground cover is able to survive our 110-degree summer days AND our occasionally freezing winter nights, all with very minimal water. Best of all, we are treated to the most gorgeous fuchsia-hued flowers for about three months each spring. Looks like we missed quite a lot of the early blooms while we were on vacation last week, but there are many more to come. If we committed to more watering, this whole patch would be thick with flowers for the whole season... But our needs are modest, and we are content with just a smattering of this great beauty.  My delight was enhanced by the fact that our ice plant blooms happen to match tonight's outfit so perfectly!

Want to participate in this month's theme?

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All images and text © Sophistique Noir Gothic Fashion Blog. Do not use any photos or text from this blog without providing a credit to me and a link back to the original post.

Winter Car Show

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Here in Southern California, the car shows don’t stop just because it's not summer! In fact, many of our favorite custom shows take place in the winter. In my opinion, the weather is often much better during these off-season shows, since I despise the sun and heat. But, even though spring is right around the corner, Mother Nature is still pretty unpredictable around here. We travel quite a distance to most of these shows, so I’ve learned to plan for who knows what kind of weather (something I failed to do for a particular show last summer, and I suffered for it)! Forget the forecasts. They are rarely accurate. Just plan for ANYTHING.

For this show, I wore a fairly heavy bouclé sweater from Victoria’s Secret and black skinny jeans. This is just one of several VS sweaters in my collection. I also brought a wool pea coat, in case it was even cooler than expected, plus gloves and a head wrap. In case of sun and unseasonable heat, I had a tank top and parasol handy. In case of wind, I pulled my hair back tight and added some fluffy false pigtails by Dancing with the Stars, as featured in one of my posts last summer.

The sweater turned out to be perfect for the day’s weather… Which was actually a bit sad, because I am wild about this coat from Arden B and really wznted to wear it. Yes, this was another “majorly on sale” outerwear purchase for me. No crazy destiny story as with the Bebe lace trench; I just saw this one on the Arden B sale site late in the winter of 2010 and made it mine immediately. Just a reminder to keep an eye out at all times, because amazing deals are out there even from quality retailers!

Have you ever tried Victoria’s Secret sweaters? Don’t you think they are the sexiest ever?

March 1 Theme: GRAY

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My outfit for this month's theme is brought to you by Mr. Kitty. Last weekend I was standing in the closet mumbling to myself while pondering what I should wear for the gray theme. He walked in, caught me mid-mumble and immediately responded, "Do you still have that dress with all the ladies on it?" Problem solved. Today I present to you one of Mr. Kitty's all-time favorites from my wardrobe. I wore this dress on one of our VERY early dates, and maybe only once since. Yet he remembers it vividly and even brings it up from time to time. It really made an impact! So, without further ado... The outfit!

Yes, this slinky little dress is covered in classical ladies of all shapes and sizes! When I found it about a decade ago in a little shop on Melrose Ave., I fell in love with this celebration of the female form. What is better than wrapping a shapely figure in shapely figures? :)

I spent considerable time debating how to approach hair, makeup and accessories to complement this dress. The shrug was a given, since it matched so perfectly (and the dress has plain black spaghetti straps that don't really lend anything to the overall look). I tried several different necklaces, a couple of bracelets and a huge set of dangly earrings before I realized that less is really more in this case. You won't hear me say that often, but this print and cut really doesn't need much embellishment. I went with lightweight black sleeves because it's still chilly out, and no jewelry other than simple sterling silver studs, ear cuffs and two rings. The belt helped break up the pattern a bit and further emphasize my waist. I added a couple of flower clips to the belt to further the overall femininity of this look.

A sleek, high ponytail seemed perfect for this sleek dress. For the makeup, I decided to go monochrome, which is another thing I don't do often. I used a shimmery white shadow that was a birthday gift from Sephora, and my usual Ben Nye black shadow applied with a light touch to make it a soft gray. The lipstick is also Ben Nye, in Silver Ice. Silver lipstick, in my opinion, really needs a black outline.

Today's eyeliner is the result of several tips from Lady Bethezda's recent Winged Eyeliner Tutorial.   If you are not already a fan of her blog, Bethezda's Preoccupations, you must check it out right now!

Want to participate in this month's theme?

Now it's your turn! You know what to do (or if you don't, check out the full details). :)

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Mr. Kitty’s Birthday

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Mr. Kitty turned 45! Okay, it was a while back and this post has been in my queue for a little while... Anyway, one of the ways I impressed him in our dating days was by cooking, and he always looks forward to the Annual Birthday Dinner. I’m quite a master in the kitchen when I put my mind to it, so I prepared a gourmet meal for him and we dressed for dinner.

I wore a Lolita Girl dress that my parents got me for a previous birthday, along with some cute lace-trimmed socks Mr. Kitty got me for my last birthday. I’m still playing around with the perfect socks-with-heels combo, and this one is growing on me although I initially didn’t like how dark the socks were.  It might work better with sheer black stockings, and the whole look definitely is screaming for a back seam!

I wanted to get a photo with Mr. Kitty as well (he looked handsome as always!) but I had to get back in the kitchen before he was ready. He always looks pretty much the same, anyway. ;)

And going a little off-topic, here’s the meal: Chicken Picatta, Stuffed Zucchini Boats, Twice-Baked Yukon Gold Potatoes and Sage Cornmeal Bread (all amongst Mr. Kitty's favorites from the VictorianKitty's Specialties Cookbook). There was also a Super-Dark Chocolate Mocha Pudding Cake, but we dug into it before there was a chance to photograph it.

Feeling a Little Cruella Today…

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This fun sweater came from Macy’s long ago. I used to wear it tons, but now it’s a bit shabby and starting to pill. I suppose I could attack it with a clothes shaver… They work quite well in my experience, but I never seem to find the time to devote to it. Even our precious little TV time (we actually don’t watch TV, and only about one Netflix movie a week) is spent doing projects, brushing cats, catching up on blog commenting, painting my nails or waxing my legs.

I thought this Gallery Serpentine corset would be a good way to hide some of the pilling and get a few more wears out of this sweater before I really have to decide to groom it or toss it. Adding a dramatic brooch, in addition to the fun faux fur collar, distracts you from its flaws a bit too.

I’m tempted to go on and on about this super-fun skirt, but I won’t. Namely because I already blogged it once, so I encourage you to go read that post. See how I get added value out of my old posts by reminding you about them once you have forgotten? ;-D

Pardon the silly post title today. I could only partially picture Cruella in my head but that’s just the thought that occurred to me in looking at the photos. Maybe it’s the crazy bit of Magic Hair peaking out, or the collar on that sweater. Or the curvy corseted silhouette . Or all of the above. Either way, I realize I don’t look a thing like Cruella here, but when one really needs a post title one tends to stretch it a bit…

These days, I'm not a fan of animated movies... But I'll always kinda love Disney villainesses. Who's your favorite?